Police: Aurora man fired 40+ shots into air

A 33-year-old Aurora man faces felony charges after police said he fired more than 40 shots in the air shortly after midnight on Jan. 1.

Benny Ochoa, of the 300 block of Stuart Avenue, is charged with reckless discharge of a firearm and possession of a controlled substance, according to police and Kane County court records.

Aurora police on Monday said the department's Special Operations Investigators set up just before midnight on Dec. 31 in an area where they feared New Year's Eve celebrants would fire guns.

Around midnight, investigators heard shots near North Superior and Ohio streets on the city's east side and tracked them to a home on the 1000 block of Superior.

Officers responded in an unmarked car, walked to the backyard and saw Ochoa with a group of people and holding a revolver, police said.

Investigators identified themselves and ordered everyone to show their hands. Officers said they found two more .40-caliber semi-automatic pistols in Ochoa's waistband that already had been emptied, as well as a small bag of cocaine in one of his pockets. The other five people in the group were unarmed. Police said Ochoa fired more than 40 rounds before being caught.

Ochoa is free on bond and is next due in court on Friday.

If convicted, he faces a punishment ranging from probation to up to three years in prison.

According to court records, he does not have any previous felony arrests or convictions in Kane County but was arrested on misdemeanor driving under the influence of alcohol charges in May 2007. He later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a year of court supervision.